Odyssey of the Mind Teams Advance, LIS Students Present "Annie Jr." & More Lawrence School News

Editor's Note: The following news briefs were contributed by .

The Lawrence Township Board of Education's next regular monthly meeting is Monday, April 2. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Lawrence High School auditorium with BOE student recognitions. The BOE then will move to the high school library for the meeting's business portion.

Budget Bytes

You're invited! Learn...be informed...get answers to your questions about the proposed 2012-2013 district budget at one or more of the following sessions. All are open to the entire community. Additionally, budget information is available under the Budget Central quick link on our website.

The Board of Education's (BOE) budget hearing is March 29 at 7 p.m. in the Lawrence High School Commons. The BOE will adopt the final budget.

Superintendent Crystal Lovell and Business Administrator Tom Eldridge will present budget info at two PTO meetings, beginning at 7 p.m. and held at the respective schools. Again, these meetings are open to the community.

• April 3 - Eldridge Park Elementary
• April 4 - Slackwood School

Note: The state's ballot for the April 17 school elections may be a bit confusing this year. This is what you can expect when you get to the polls. You will be asked to vote separately on:

• The school district budget, which is under the state's 2 percent allowable cap.
• Five candidates for the Board of Education. (You will select three candidates for three-year terms, one for a two-year term, and one for a one-yr term.)
• The Lawrence Township municipal government's referendum for an amount of the township budget that exceeds the state's 2 percent allowable cap.

Please call our Business Office at (609) 671-5420 with questions.

“A Night of Giving”

See updated flyer for the Lawrenceville Elementary School PTO's ‘A Night of Giving’ Live and Silent Auction scheduled for March 31 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Educational Testing Service. Purchase tickets here: http://les-nightofgiving.eventbrite.com/

Lawrence Intermediate Presents “Annie Jr.”

The sun will come out, tomorrow….  Lawrence Intermediate School will present its annual spring musical, “Annie Jr.” on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, March 29-31, at 7 p.m. Tickets available at the door: $6 for adults, $4 for children

Lawrence Intermediate Students Have Heart!

Lawrence Intermediate School held its 2012 Jump Rope for Heart on March 6 and Hoops for Heart on March 9. LIS fourth- and fifth-graders raised $8,500 for Jump Rope for Heart and sixth-graders raised $2,500 for Hoops, totaling $11,000 for the American Heart Association. That’s a lot of jumping and shooting!

Ben Franklin PTO Spring Sale Cancelled

Due to the , the Ben Franklin PTO has cancelled its May 19 Spring Sale.

Lawrenceville Elementary Blood Drive

Consider giving blood at the “Community Gives Back” Blood Drive sponsored Lawrenceville Elementary School on April 19. See the flyer.

The Link - April 2012

Here's your preview copy of The Link, the district's community newsletter. The publication is the center pullout section of the upcoming April edition of the Lawrence Gazette.

Lawrence High Science Olympiad State Tournament Winners

The Lawrence High School Science Olympiad Team, advised by chemistry teacher Breanna Bever, attended the New Jersey State Tournament on March 13 along with 25 other high school teams. Four pairs of students from LHS received medals for placing in the Top 8 in the state! Those students are:

• Vai Pahwa and Pratyush Hiremath: Fifth Place for Fermi Questions
• Tristan Jordan and Darius Teng: Sixth Place for Anatomy & Physiology
• Bren Surendran and Colm Humphreys: Eighth Place for Gravity Vehicle
• Viktor Kraprivin and Vai Pahwa: Eighth Place for Thermodynamics

Odyssey of the Mind

On March 10, two teams of students from Lawrence Middle School and one team of students from Lawrence Intermediate School competed in the Odyssey of the Mind Regional Tournament in Mount Laurel, along with 68 other South Jersey teams.  The students who participated are:

LMS/Team Zinger: Katy Carpinelli, Justin Hamilton, Cole Hindman, Mark Immordino, Ben Johnson, Ben Reitz, and Emily Tino

LMS/The Insoluble 6:  Sameer Agrawal, Mohin Chanpura, Ruchika Moturi, Aadil Mufti, Rithvik Nair, and Anoop Sypereddi  

LIS/D’KILZ:  Ian Buchsbaum, David Horne, Kieran Humphreys, Kyle Schuler, Luke Annand, Zachary Morhaim, and Logan Hillegas of The Chapin School 

The Lawrence Intermediate School team took second place and Team Zinger of Lawrence Middle School placed third at Regionals. Both teams will go on to participate at the OotM State Competition on Saturday, April 21, in Edison.

Mercer County Science & Engineering Fair Winners

Students from Lawrence Intermediate School and Lawrence Middle School were recognized during the 59th annual fair held at Rider University in mid-March. Judges from area companies, agencies, schools, Rider and the military evaluated the projects. Top winners in the junior division (Grades 6-8) move on to the Society of Science & the Public Broadcom Masters competition this spring. The 50 finalists from that competition advance to Washington D.C. for the finals.

Mercer Science & Engineering Club, General Science - Elementary Division

• Meritorious Achievement – Anusha Aggarwal
• Honorable Mention – Rayna Indelicato

Society for Science & the Public – Junior Division

• Biological, Broadcom Masters Award – Christian Fang

Mercer Science & Engineering Club - Junior Division

• Biological, Outstanding Achievement – Christian Fang
• Physical, Honorable Mention – Pranav Sabanayagam

Read more .

Spanish-Language Computer Workshops

The Mercer ETTC is hosting a series of Spanish-language workshops on computer basics. These workshops are open to the community and will be taught in Spanish only by Jennifer Rivera at the Technology Center on the following dates:

Introduction to Computers:

• March 29
• April 26
• May 17

The Basics:

• April 5
• May 3
• May 31

Refer registrations and questions to Susan Goldberg at sgoldberg@ltps.org or via phone at (609) 671-5434. See flyer in Spanish.

Princeton Kids Marathon

Kids of all fitness levels and abilities, in kindergarten through eighth grade, walk or run a full marathon, 26.2 miles, at their own pace over a 10-week “training period.” They also are encouraged to complete 26 green deeds and raise funds for local child health programs.

Kids begin accumulating miles from April 1 until June 6 to complete 25.2 miles before race day - 2.5 miles per week. On race day, June 10, the final mile is completed at the Kids Marathon starting and finishing in Princeton University stadium where everyone will receive a finisher’s medal and marathon blanket.

The school with the most participation will also win a prize. Children can achieve the mileage goal with a combination of running, walking and simply being active in a sport.

All proceeds from the race go the University Medical Center of Princeton’s Outpatient Pediatric Care Clinic. There is a $25 registration fee and the participants are encouraged to raise additional funds through pledges.

Join the Ben Franklin or Lawrenceville Elementary teams, start a team at your school or register individually. Please email Michelle Everman at meverman@mercadien.com or call (609) 689-2399 for more information or visit the website www.princetonkidsmarathon.org. See the brochure.

LMS Artists Network Summer Art Camp

Lawrenceville Main Street Artists Gallery Summer Art Camp registration is available now with Special pre-K programs beginning May 29. See attached brochure or visit http://www.lmsartistsnetwork.com/.

English Classes for Adults

The Princeton YWCA and the Lawrence Community Center are accepting registrations for Spring Adult English classes on Saturdays at the Community Center. See the flyer.